Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we sit down with Mallary Tenore Tarpley, journalist, professor, and author of the forthcoming book Slip. Mallary opens up about her personal journey with anorexia, her path to treatment, and her concept of the “middle place” in recovery—a space between acute illness and full recovery that is rarely discussed but widely experienced.

Mallary shares how her early experiences with grief, media influences, and cultural messages about food and bodies contributed to the development of her eating disorder. She also talks about the power of persistence, small steps toward healing, and the importance of support and community along the recovery journey.

About Mallary:

Mallary Tenore Tarpley is a journalism and writing professor at the University of Texas at Austin's Moody College of Communications and McCombs School of Business. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and other publications. She graduated from Providence College and has an MFA in nonfiction writing from Goucher College. Mallary lives outside of Austin, TX, with her husband and two children.

We cover:

How Mallary’s mother’s death and suppressed grief contributed to the onset of her eating disorder

Her treatment experiences, including a 17-month stay in residential care

The concept of the “middle place” and why she wants to destigmatize slips in recovery

The five pillars of recovery that guided her healing journey

Why persistence, small victories, and community support are essential

How Slip blends personal narrative with research and the voices of others

In Mallary’s words:

On why she titled her book Slip: “Sometimes we think that slips equal failure. And that is the reason I titled the book Slip... I want to destigmatize slips in the recovery process and recognize that slips can be opportunities for growth rather than grounds for failure.”

On the “middle place” in recovery: “For a long time I thought that I was the only one in this space, because I never heard anyone else talk about it... when I began to interview people for the book, I realized that this space is quite populous, and yet it's not talked about very often.”

On persistence and progress: “Sometimes the idea of trying to attain full recovery can feel a bit daunting and insurmountable... I like to think a lot about ‘more recovery.’ Maybe that's a half [of] a percent one day, maybe it's ten percent another day. Those very tiny steps can accumulate over time.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

Mallary’s book, Slip, comes out on August 5, but you can preorder it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or at your local bookstore today. You can connect with Mallary, learn more about her, and follow her newsletter on her website, mallarytenoretarpley.com. You can also follow her on Instagram (@mallarytenoretarpley) and LinkedIn.

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we hear from Jenny Beck and Sarah Bergen, two passionate leaders at The Emily Program’s Ohio treatment centers. Jenny, the Site Director, and Sarah, the Regional Medical Director, offer personal and professional insight into eating disorder recovery—what they love about their work, what makes it challenging, and what they wish more people knew about treatment.

Reflecting on the rewarding but often difficult journey of supporting people with eating disorders, while drawing from years of experience—and in Sarah’s case, a personal history with anorexia—they discuss: 

What happens behind the scenes in treatment

The misconceptions they frequently encounter

The deep hope they hold for their clients 

Together, they emphasize that while recovery is never easy, it is always worth it.

About Jenny and Sarah:

Jenny Beck, LPCC-S, is the Site Director of The Emily Program’s Residential and Outpatient Treatment Centers in Columbus, Ohio. As Site Director, Jenny oversees all clinical services provided for children, adolescents, and adults at the outpatient, intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, and residential levels of care. Jenny has worked as a therapist since 2006 and has specialized in eating disorder care since 2014. A high point in Jenny’s professional journey was overseeing the launch of the Columbus Residential treatment center in January 2022.

Sarah Bergen, RN, MS, PMHNP-BC, is the Regional Medical Director of The Emily Program’s Ohio locations, working closely with the Site Director, Senior Regional Director, and medical lead to ensure the best quality care for clients, and provide support to the amazing medical and psychiatry staff. Sarah has been with The Emily Program since 2016, first as the psychiatric provider in Spokane, Washington, covering partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), and outpatient programming before she moved back home to Ohio. Sarah was in Columbus as The Emily Program opened its second Ohio location in 2020. She worked with clients in residential care for two years before her transition to Medical Director.

We cover:

How Jenny and Sarah each found their way into eating disorder care

The most rewarding and the most difficult parts of their work

Common barriers to seeking treatment and how to overcome them

Why treatment can feel worse before it feels better—and why that’s okay

What they want families, friends, and communities to understand about eating disorders

Hopes for the future of eating disorder treatment and awareness in Ohio and beyond

In their words:

Jenny on what makes recovery worth it: “It probably will feel worse before it feels better. But please don’t give up during the worst… If you give up during the worst, you don’t get the better.”

Jenny on the invisible nature of eating disorder treatment: “People can't see the toll it takes to get well. It's easy to assume it's not that hard. It’s so hard.”

Sarah on barriers to care: “Eating disorders do such a good job telling folks that they are not ‘ill enough.’”

Jenny on holding hope: “There’s always a reason to say no... But what if it does [work]?... The future is a beautiful thing, terrifying and beautiful... It equally holds the possibility of goodness as it does hard things.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we hear from Darby Kellogg, a former collegiate runner who spent years in pseudo-recovery after receiving treatment for anorexia.

Darby reflects on how her eating disorder took root in the culture of competitive running, where an intense focus on performance, discipline, and “clean eating” often normalized or hid her disordered behaviors. When medical concerns forced her to stop training and enter inpatient care, she felt like she was losing the identity she had built around her sport. In the years that followed, Darby felt stuck in what she now recognizes as pseudo-recovery: doing what “looked right” externally while still following disordered rules internally. It’s an experience she says is more common than people realize, but rarely talked about. In this conversation, Darby shares how she came to recognize that surface-level recovery wasn’t enough, and what helped her begin the deeper, lasting work of true healing.

About Darby:

Darby Kellogg lives in Michigan and is on a mission to help others in eating disorder recovery. Darby has been in recovery from anorexia for six years and is currently in PA school. A former collegiate runner, she has firsthand experience navigating eating disorder treatment at multiple levels of care. Now, she’s especially passionate about challenging misconceptions around recovery, including giving voice to the role of neuro-rewiring and the process of unlearning ingrained beliefs. 

We cover:

The role of sport and perfectionism in Darby’s eating disorder experience

Darby’s early eating disorder warning signs

What it was like to lose her sport and identity as an athlete

Why pseudo-recovery can keep someone stuck

How eating disorders can get in the way of showing up fully in relationships

How recovery has reshaped Darby’s relationship with movement and her future in medicine

In Darby’s words:

On her experience with pseudo-recovery: “I was eating the food I was supposed to. I was resting my body…I was doing just enough to make my providers and parents happy, but also serve the eating disorder. I was doing these things on paper, but none of the mental processes were changing. I was still looking to the eating disorder for guidance. I wasn’t pushing against those thought patterns that the eating disorder is rooted in.”

On relationships and recovery: “Recovery is about relationships...And if you prioritize your relationships, you will realize that the eating disorder is not in your best interest. You can't have these relationships if you want to keep your eating disorder. You have to, in a sense, choose one.”

On choosing recovery: “The phrase that I have always come back to when I have been struggling is ‘choose your hard.’ It's going to be hard no matter what you do. You have to accept that…it's really extremely difficult to recover from an eating disorder. But it's also extremely hard to never recover and not see all the beautiful things on the other side of it. You get to choose which path you want to take and which hard you want to do. Instead of doing the ‘safe scary’ things, do the ‘scary scary’ things.”

On reclaiming her relationship with movement: “I've thought of it more now as building my body rather than tearing it down. I’m training more for functional strength now. Am I gonna be able to hold my grandkids when I’m 80? I'm training for health and longevity. I'm not training to beat any records.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode, Dr. Dev Seacrest returns to Peace Meal to reflect on how his evolving understanding of gender, body image, and disability has shaped his recovery from both anorexia and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). 

Since first joining us in 2020, Dev has gained deeper clarity on how gender dysphoria influenced his relationship with food and body image. He talks about embracing fatness as a trans man, finding support in a men’s body image group, and receiving a revised diagnosis that helped explain his chronic pain and changing mobility needs.

Through these experiences, Dev shares what it means to recover on his own terms—honoring gender identity, disability, and fat embodiment, and building a more peaceful relationship with his body along the way.

About Dev:

Dr. Dev Seacrest (he/him) is a transmasculine professor who uses his lived experience to identify areas for growth among individuals and communities. He has found that advocating for people with eating disorders, disabilities, chronic illness, and/or who are in larger bodies has been effective and rewarding. It has also helped him to better understand and accept himself as a member of all of these groups.

We cover:

How gender dysphoria and weight stigma shaped Dev’s eating disorder

How evolving language helped him make sense of his body and identity

The relief and clarity of receiving accurate chronic illness diagnoses

How chronic illness complicates food access, hunger cues, and body trust

What affirming, weight-neutral, and trauma-informed care can look like

How advocacy has helped Dev find greater self-acceptance and community

In Dev's words:

On embracing his identity: “One thing that was really hard for me since the beginning was the idea of being a fat woman. And there's nothing wrong with being a fat woman, but I finally realized that the part that I was afraid of wasn't the fat part; it was the woman part. Being a fat man is something that I can accept and embrace…I needed to have the gender concept down before I could start adding to it.”

On rejecting healthism and reclaiming rest: “I’ve come a long way [with] healthism…I don’t have to earn respect or earn food or earn rest. Fat people deserve rest, too.”

On the importance of affirming, compassionate care: “One of the things that really helped was being diagnosed and having doctors say, ‘I see that you're in pain,’ ‘I see that you're having issues’—so many people don't get that. It’s so important to have doctors and providers who believe you."

On defining his body on his own terms: “My body is a man's body. And is that because of various surgeries or anything like that, or the clothes that I wear? No, it's because it's my body, so it's a man's body.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, we’re joined by Mindy Elliott, Director of Education at The Emily Program, for a thoughtful conversation about supporting students in eating disorder treatment. With over a decade of experience, Mindy speaks to the concerns that many families face: What happens to school during treatment? Will my child fall behind? She offers both reassurance and practical insight, emphasizing that recovery and academic progress are not mutually exclusive. In fact, with the right support, they can go hand-in-hand.

Whether you’re a caregiver, educator, or student yourself, this episode is a reminder that you don’t have to choose between your health and education. With compassionate, individualized care, students can keep learning—and keep healing.

About Mindy:

Mindy Elliott, MS, (she/her) is the Director of Education and leads the education and school services at The Emily Program (TEP). She developed the academic programming for our Southeast sites beginning in 2012 and currently works with all TEP sites. She is dedicated to removing barriers to treatment by meeting the unique educational needs of each individual.

A leader in the hospital educator field, Mindy serves on the executive board of the Hospital Educator and Academic Liaison Association, the North American organization supporting professionals who work to improve the educational outcomes of students with medical and mental health needs. Mindy is also an Associate Editor of the international journal, Continuity in Education, focusing on the education of children and young people with medical and mental health needs. She holds degrees in English and curriculum and instruction, earned additional graduate certificates in school leadership and gifted education, and is a licensed principal in North Carolina.

We cover:

What school looks like during eating disorder treatment—and how it’s built into The Emily Program’s care

Why delaying treatment for school can backfire

What affirming support looks like for neurodivergent students

How families and schools can work together to support recovery

What to remember when treatment feels like “bad timing”

In Mindy's words:

On the myth that school has to come first: “There doesn't need to be a choice between school and treatment. Programs like The Emily Program offer school integrated into the treatment setting so that as your child gets well, they can continue making progress in school.”

On how academic accommodations work in care: “Our teachers are barrier busters. They look at each student individually…they can make a plan that’s both supportive of the child’s academic goals as well as their treatment goals.”

On the danger of waiting for the “perfect time:” “Eating disorder treatment is not something that can be done quickly and just timed perfectly for a school break. And so, kind of releasing that idea that school is the major decision maker…can help you focus on your recovery.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, Kezia Reeder joins host Dr. Jillian Lampert to offer thoughtful, compassionate guidance for anyone supporting a loved one with an eating disorder. As a clinician with lived eating disorder experience, Kezia understands how complicated it can feel to reach out for help—especially when you're afraid of saying the wrong thing or not being taken seriously.

Through honest conversation and real-life stories, Kezia and Jillian explore what support can look like—whether you’re a parent noticing early signs, a friend reaching out, or someone helping a loved one take the first brave step toward treatment. They reflect on the power of early intervention, the importance of trusting your instincts, and how simply showing up—consistently and without judgment—can make all the difference.

About Kezia:

Kezia Reeder is the Director of Clinical Operations at Accanto Health, with brands The Emily Program and Gather Behavioral Health. Kezia became involved in the eating disorder field after struggling with, and recovering from, an eating disorder in college. As a mother to a young daughter, Kezia is driven by her desire to create a more supportive and inclusive environment for future generations. Combining her professional skills with her personal mission, she is a fierce advocate for eating disorders awareness and treatment, passionately working to improve client care and access.

We cover:

What eating disorder signs can look like at any age

How to trust your gut and act early, even if others dismiss your concern

Ways to approach a friend with care and curiosity, not pressure

What happens when you make the first call for help

How to model body respect and food neutrality at home

In Kezia's words:

On making the first call for help: “The people you’re talking to really care and truly believe that getting help makes a difference. It was a lot less scary than I anticipated.”

On why early action matters: “The sooner we get someone the help they need, the better the prognosis. So if you’re delaying care—what if this goes on longer than it needs to? What are the far-reaching impacts of waiting to get the right care?”

On the effort recovery takes—and why it’s worth it: “[Eating disorders are] not a phase. It’s not something that will just go away… Recovery takes effort, and it can feel like a huge, daunting task—and it is so worth it.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube Music. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

In this episode of Peace Meal, Katelyn Olmsted opens up about the challenges she faced as a teenager navigating an eating disorder, treatment, and recovery. She shares the fear and resistance she felt when faced with the idea of getting help, the moment she realized she could no longer fight her battle alone, and the community that helped her take her first brave steps toward healing.

Katelyn also describes how writing became a lifeline in treatment—one that eventually led to her book, Daily Dos of an Eating Disorder to Recovery. She reflects on the struggles of leaving treatment, relearning how to trust her body, and finding new purpose in sharing her story with others who feel lost in their own recovery.

About Katelyn:

Katelyn Olmsted is a young author whose recovery journey began at age 15 when she entered treatment. During her time in care, she began writing Daily Dos of an Eating Disorder to Recovery, a book that grew from her own experiences and now serves as a source of hope for others on their healing journeys. Katelyn is passionate about eating disorder awareness and aspires to become an eating disorder therapist and dietitian. Her story has been featured in podcasts and magazines, and she continues to share her experiences to remind others that recovery is possible, even when it feels out of reach. She is grateful for the support of her friends and family in Charlotte, North Carolina.

We cover:

The impact of adolescence and sports pressures on eating disorders

The emotional tug-of-war between wanting to heal and resisting treatment

How an eating disorder can offer a sense of comfort—and what helps let go

The challenges of rebuilding trust with your body after treatment

How writing can become a tool for healing

In Katelyn's words:

On misconceptions about eating disorders: “People think it’s a phase or, you know, a weight loss journey…When the truth is, it’s a struggle and a mental disorder.”

On seeing her journey as part of a bigger story: “My mom always said, ‘It’s just a chapter’...I turned that into, ‘I can use my chapter to write a chapter book and help someone else’s whole story.’ It was kind of a full circle moment because I realized—this is not my full story, this is just a chapter…and helping other people is helping myself.”

On what recovery has given her: “Recovery brings so many good things, so many opportunities, and even though it is a hard process—and I still have my days of struggles—it’s not worth going back… If I ever struggle, I sit just there and think: recovery has brought me this much good. Recovery has brought me going out to eat spontaneously with my friends, living guilt-free, being able to move my body, and have full energy.”

You can purchase Katelyn’s book, Daily Dos of an Eating Disorder to Recovery, through Amazon. You can also follow Katelyn on Instagram (@Katelyns.Daily.Dos).

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

Taylor Humphrey joins us in this episode of Peace Meal to recount her eating disorder experience and unpack the lessons she learned in recovery. Taylor’s story begins over a decade ago, when her concerns about maintaining her high level of athleticism drove her to form an obsession with “perfect” eating. Connecting with effective, age-appropriate treatment proved a struggle for Taylor and her family. The program she attended in early adolescence lacked proper eating disorder education, which led Taylor to feel disconnected, unsupported, and reluctant in her recovery.

Taylor turned a corner between the ages of 16 and 18 upon connecting with new clinicians who expanded her perspective and made her feel seen and accepted. Today, confidently equipped with her toolbox of recovery skills, Taylor leverages the “gifts” of her struggles to provide direction to young people and their parents going through the treatment journey.

Taylor Humphrey has been in eating disorder recovery for about ten years and has a passion for helping others who are struggling. She strives to spread eating disorder awareness—currently as a personal trainer and nutritionist, and previously as a coach for moms of daughters with eating disorders. She hopes someday to be an even bigger voice and advocate for recovery, as she feels blessed to be in her position and wants to show others the beauty of life in recovery and the strength they have within themselves.

We cover:

How adolescence can intensify treatment resistance

The healing power of relationships between the client and their treatment team

The challenges of maintaining recovery in a triggering home environment

How leaning on your support system can improve your self-agency

The need for firsthand guidance for families going through eating disorder treatment

In Taylor's words:

On how raising a young daughter helps sustain her recovery: “Having a young daughter is the biggest blessing and the most scary thing ever for me, going through this. My intention for her is for her to see her mom love herself…and I can’t do that if I’m not healthy. And I can’t do that if I’m slipping back into my eating disorder. I don’t want her to know that life. I want her to love herself and appreciate herself and everything that her body can do for her.”

On the perspective shifts of recovery: “Society isn’t correct. Diets don’t work because that’s not what our bodies are meant to do… If you respect your body and love your body and accept it for who it is and why it was created, you’re going to have a much more fulfilling life… my eyes are open to another world of love and acceptance.”

On what Taylor’s eating disorder experience gave her: “I [now] trust myself enough to be smart enough and good enough, to be an example to others, and to be a leader not a follower. I really do look at my eating disorder as a gift… I’ve learned so much from it—I’ve learned what I want and what I don’t want, who I am and who I’m not, what I like and what I don’t. And I’m okay with that, because of what I went through.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program and Veritas Collaborative that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

Episode description:

Aronson Kagiliery joins Peace Meal to share her family’s journey of finding the right eating disorder treatment for her teenage daughter with anorexia. After exploring local options, she shares, her family ultimately traveled to pursue care at Veritas Collaborative. Most helpful to Aronson’s experience at Veritas were parent programming and weekend sessions, which affirmed that her daughter’s eating disorder was not her fault. She then offers insight on prioritizing treatment above a child’s other commitments, as well as providing support outside of treatment by refusing to let the eating disorder rule.

Reflecting on her daughter's treatment and recovery, Aronson reflects on the importance of self-care and attending to her own needs—something she wishes she had done more. She describes what gradual healing looked like for her daughter, including the signs she knew her daughter was getting better. In a particularly touching moment, Aronson recalls her daughter sharing that she has days where she doesn’t think once about her eating disorder, a reality they never imagined was possible. To close, Aronson graciously shares words of wisdom for other parents supporting a child with one of these illnesses.

Aronson is a wife, super-mom, entrepreneur, and community advocate. She studied psychology at the University of Central Florida, which led to a successful career in marketing and management at her family's pizzerias and her husband's car dealerships. Today, Aronson's greatest role is as a supportive wife and mom to twin daughters, now college-aged. Aronson is committed to sharing her experience and knowledge to help other families of children with eating disorders. 

We cover:

Why parents are not to blame for their child’s eating disorder

The role of therapy and education for families with a child struggling with an eating disorder 

The importance of support for parents within the recovery space as they learn to balance caring for themselves while supporting their child

How to prioritize recovery over a child’s other commitments, including school and extracurriculars

Gradual signs of healing in the nonlinear process of eating disorder recovery 

In Aronson’s words:

On her family’s experience with Veritas Collaborative: “I liked how I didn’t feel judged for being there. I felt like, ‘Hey, we are in this together.’”

On self-care during her daughter’s treatment: “I would, knowing what I know now, take that hour and do what you need to be able to recharge so that you still have something left for everybody else.”

On what recovery is for her daughter: “[My daughter said] ‘I have days it doesn’t even cross my mind.’ And that is what you’ve heard about, but don’t realize it’s possible. And then when you hear your child say, ‘I don’t think about it all the time,’ you’re like, ‘Okay, we’ve got this. We can do this.’” 

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling 1-888-364-5977. 

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About the podcast:

Peace Meal is a podcast hosted by The Emily Program and Veritas Collaborative that covers topics related to eating disorders, body image, and how society may influence our thinking.

You can find Peace Meal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts. If you enjoy our show, please rate, review, subscribe, and tell your friends!

Are you interested in being a guest on Peace Meal? Email [email protected] for more information.

**Content warning: This episode includes discussions around suicidal thinking and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Please use your discretion when listening and speak with your support system as needed. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, there are resources that can help. Contact the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by texting or calling 988.

Episode description:

In Episode 85 of Peace Meal, we heard from Holly Thorssen about her experience parenting her daughter Madison through an eating disorder. Today, we pass the microphone to Madison, who tells us her recovery story in her own words. Madison begins by recounting her life with an eating disorder. As is often the case, her illness was all-consuming, depleting her ability to be fully present, clouding her values and belief system, and offering a sense of false happiness. At age 12, Madison experienced a barrage of depressive symptoms, which she connects to the onset of her disordered eating. In the absence of healthy coping skills, Madison’s eating disorder numbed her inner pain and released the emotional pressure of her depression.

Entering treatment at The Emily Program marked a shift in Madison’s recovery resistance. She emphasizes the impact of a whole-person care model and shares several takeaways from treatment that have been helpful to her healing. Reflecting on the adversities of her mental health journey, Madison explains why she’s fired up about enacting policy change that supports compassionate, individualized, evidence-based care so that no one feels hopeless about their mental health. Says Madison, “There’s always hope.”

In addition to being Holly’s daughter, Madison Hanson is a senior at North Dakota State University, double majoring in social work and human development and family science. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in social work after graduation next spring. Madison’s specific interest lies in macro social work and advocacy for stronger mental health laws to protect those struggling with mental illness. Outside of school, she enjoys yoga, traveling, and spending time with her dog, Leo.

We cover:

The role of a co-occurring mental health diagnosis in potentially triggering and maintaining an eating disorder

How to find separation between yourself and your eating disorder

The challenging process of overcoming food fears

The crucial work of protecting your healing and mental health in recovery

The need for a paradigm shift in mental health services—specifically one that priorities individualized care

In Madison's words:

On the importance of a holistic, person-centered care model: “The Emily Program was actually the only place that incorporated the aspect of the whole person approach. I found that [approach] in the program very helpful… Accepting the help and support was a lot easier after I learned this whole other way of going about [treatment].”

On protecting her recovery: “For me, it almost [requires] treating the eating disorder as an addiction. And when I say that, I mean I don't weigh myself at home anymore. I don't follow diet culture or buy diet products or any of that. I completely cut it out because there is no way of living half in the eating disorder and half out. It's kind of either all or nothing. And so by doing that, I don't have to think about it as much.”

On imagining life in recovery: “I would ask that person to close their eyes and think about if they didn't have their eating disorder or their mental illness. What would your dream life be? … Just imagine this. And then I would ask them to open their eyes, and I would tell them, you know what? It's actually going to be ten times better than that. And I know you probably don't believe it right now, and you might not believe it tomorrow, but I promise you, if you take those first steps, (even if you don't believe them)... it's going to get easier, and it's going to get so much better.”

Learn more about The Emily Program online or by calling...